As part of its efforts to reinforce the fight against human trafficking the European Baptist Federation (EBF) has formed an anti-trafficking workgroup within its External Relations Division to assist persons who are victims of human trafficking.
The EBF describes human trafficking as "a form of modern slavery", and has highlighted the fact that it mainly affects women and children, most of whom are forced into prostitution.
Chair of the anti-trafficking workgroup, Sven-Gunnar Liden of Sweden, says that those who are trafficked into prostitution are not 'volunteers' and are often pressured into the sex industry.
"All trafficking is organised by criminal networks" and "prostitutes become victims of their past," the Swedish Baptist pastor explains.
In showing that trafficking, and hence prostitution, is led by networks and not the women themselves, Liden gives the example of Internet-based prostitution: "It is highly unlikely that a girl from a poor country would be able to buy her own ticket to Sweden, rent an apartment there, have nude photographs taken of her, set up a website, and present herself on it in (the) Swedish (language)."
Western values feed the traffic of women and girls into prostitution, Liden asserts.
Elaine Storkey, President of Tearfund agrees, saying: "Human beings are made into commodities: things, labour machines, leisure accessories."
"Trafficking in persons is the opposite of God's design for creation," Storkey, a Senior Research Fellow said, "The sex industry is able to make humans become slaves to the power of sin."
She asserts that Christians need to challenge the prevailing view of human personhood that pervades western and other societies.
Lauran Bethell of the American Baptist Churches describes trafficking of human beings as one of the "Messiest of situations that we have in our world today."
